The Sportsletter - ⌛️ Tick Tock, Bracket Clock

BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 15, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Happy Friday 🙌

And welcome to sports heaven. It’s the middle of March. The weather is warm. A relaxing three days of college basketball and golf await. What could be better? The next time we hit your inbox, we’ll have brackets to analyze and a pool you can join (more giveaways coming).

Champ Week, take us to madness.

⌛️ Selection Sunday: 2 Days

Letter Rip!

NCAA

Champ Week Bubble-Chasers

Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images

Conference Tournaments, Bubble Beaters & The Precursor to Selection Sunday

Here. We. Go. College basketball’s Champ Week is off and running with men’s tournaments hooping non-stop across the country between now and Sunday afternoon. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show (Sun. 6:00 pm ET, CBS/TNT) will reveal the 68-team bracket, but there’s still much to be decided.

The Bubble-Chasers: Last night brought more drama into the mix as we watched multiple bubble teams seal their fates, or cling to life. The difference between "in" and "out" is as thin as a missed blockout, and the bubble is shifting. Providence posted an upset win over #8 Creighton, and key victories by Michigan State and St. John’s should have those three teams feeling good about their bracket chances. A few other teams weren’t so lucky, and they likely saw their bubbles burst — Kansas State, Villanova and Wake Forest. #10 Marquette needed an overtime victory to escape ‘Nova, but the Wildcats might be out of luck (and opportunities). So much hoops, I’m not sure where to start. Let’s check the bubble and rewind last night’s conference quarterfinals before today’s epic (and I mean epic!) slate of games.

Bubble Watch (Updated, Mar. 15)

Last 4 Byes: Michigan State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, St. John’s
Last 4 In: Colorado, Virginia, Seton Hall, Texas A&M
First 4 Out: New Mexico, Indiana State, Pittsburgh, Providence
Next 4 Out: Kansas State, Wake Forest, Ohio State, Villanova

Full Bracketology Outlook (ESPN’s Joe Lunardi)

Conference Tournament Highlights (Ranked)

ACC: #4 N. Carolina def. Florida State (92-67)

ACC: NC State def. #11 Duke (74-69)

B12: #1 Houston def. TCU (60-45)

B12: #7 Iowa State def. Kansas State (76-57)

B12: #25 Texas Tech def. #20 BYU (81-67)

BE: #2 UConn def. Xavier (87-60)

BE: Providence def. #8 Creighton (78-73)

BE: #10 Marquette def. Villanova (71-65, OT)

BE: #14 Baylor def. Cincinnati (68-56)

PAC12: #6 Arizona def. USC (70-49)

PAC12: #22 Wash. State def. Stanford (79-62)

SEC: #15 South Carolina def. Arkansas (80-66)

Today’s Top Games (Quarterfinals/Semifinals)

BTen: #3 Purdue vs. Mich. State (Noon, BTN)

SEC: #5 Tennessee vs. Miss. State (1:00 pm, ESPN)

SEC: #15 S. Carolina vs. #12 Auburn (3:30 pm, ESPN)

BTen: #13 Illinois vs. Ohio State (6:30 pm, BTN)

B12: #1 Houston vs. #25 Texas Tech (7:00 pm, ESPN2)

PAC: #6 Arizona vs. Oregon (8:00 pm, PAC12N)

BE: #10 Marquette vs. Providence (8:00 pm, FS1)

B12: #7 Iowa State vs. #14 Baylor (9:30 pm, ESPN)

SEC: #19 Alabama vs. Florida (9:30 pm, SECN)

*All Times ET

You can find each conference tournament's bracket and schedule in the weekend must-watch list at the bottom of today's edition.

GOLF ⛳️

Round 1: Rory & The Rule Police 🚔

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

The Players Championship: McIlroy (-7), Schauffele (-7) & Clark (-7) Top Leaderboard Despite Rory’s Controversial Drop Drama

Low numbers were gettable on Thursday at The Players Championship, but a trio of high-profile stars went lower than the rest. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark posted opening-round 65s (-7), but it was McIlroy who set the pace despite a little early drama. McIlroy put two shots in the water on the 7th hole, and there was a dispute between him and Jordan Spieth after his second drop. Rule police to the rescue. McIlroy ultimately dropped in a new position at Spieth's request, and he finished with a double-bogey on the hole. Somehow, he still holds a share of the lead after Day 1 thanks to six birdies on his first eight holes and ten birdies overall. Schauffele played a bogey-free Round 1, and Clark came roaring up the leaderboard late in the day.

🏝️ Ace on the Island: New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (-3) had the shot of the day with the first hole-in-one on the 17th island green. Fox spun it back from beyond 10 feet for a memorable moment. That shot came just after an eagle on the 16th — effectively saving him from a run of bogeys on Holes 14 and 15. It was the 14th hole-in-one ever made in The Players' 50-year history.

The Players Leaderboard (Round 1)

T1. Rory McIlroy (-7)

T1. Xander Schauffele (-7)

T1. Wyndham Clark (-7)

T4. Nick Taylor (-6)

T4. Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)

T6. Scottie Scheffler (-5)

T6. Jason Day (-5)

T6. Ludvig Aberg (-5)

T6. Tom Hoge (-5)

Other Notable Scorecards: M. Homa (-4), C. Conners (-4), H. Matsuyama (-3), T. Finau (-3), J. Rose (-2), A. Scott (-2), S.W. Kim (-2), C. Morikawa (-1), J. Thomas (-1), P. Cantlay (E), V. Hovland (+1), J. Spieth (+2), R. Fowler (+2), W. Zalatoris (+2) | Full Leaderboard

Round 1 Highlights | Round 2 Tee Times

PGA: Ryan Fox Makes Players History With Eagle-Ace Run at 16th & 17th

NFL

The Deals Keep Coming 🤝

Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images

More NFL Signings, Trades & Moves Bring Wild Free Agency Week to an End

There’s a lot going on right now in sports, so we haven’t had the capacity to recap Free Agency to the fullest. If you were paying attention, you noticed a barrage of moves this week that just... never seem to stop! This has been an unprecedented week with trades, cuts and roster shuffling unlike anything I've seen before. It’s starting to wind down (slightly), but we’re far from done.

As of yesterday: Keenan Allen was traded to the Bears. Arik Armstead is a Jag. Devin White is an Eagle. Kirk Cousins got another toy on offense. And Marquise "Hollywood" Brown joins the Chiefs (the rich get richer). About a dozen potential starters are still out there, though. More big dominos could fall this weekend. Here’s the latest:

Notable FA Signings (Last 24 Hours)

DL Arik Armstead → Jaguars

Contract: 3 Years, $51 Million

CB Kendall Fuller → Dolphins

Contract: 2 Years, $16.5 Million

LB Devin White → Eagles

Contract: 1 Year, $7.5 Million

WR Marquise Brown → Chiefs

Contract: 1 Year, $11 Million

DE D.J. Wonnum → Panthers

Contract: 2 Years, $14.5 Million

Notable Cuts

Saints Release WR Michael Thomas

Ravens Release WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Notable Trades

Bears Acquire WR Keenan Allen From Chargers for 4th-Round Pick

Cardinals Trade WR Rondale Moore to Falcons for QB Desmond Ridder

Commanders Trade QB Sam Howell to Seahawks for Draft Picks

Top Remaining Veteran Free Agents

QB: Jimmy Garoppolo, Ryan Tannehill

RB: J.K. Dobbins, Ezekiel Elliot

WR: Mike Williams, Michael Thomas

OL: Tyron Smith, Dalton Risner

DL: Chase Young, Jadeveon Clowney

CB: Xavien Howard, Stephen Gilmore

S: Jamal Adams, Justin Simmons

SI: NFL Investigating Eagles & Falcons for Potential FA Tampering

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

🏀 NBA

Celtics def. Suns (127-112)

Bucks def. 76ers (114-105)

Clippers def. Bulls (126-111)

Thunder def. Mavericks (126-119)

Knicks def. Blazers (105-93)

*Jalen Brunson Drops 45 Points

🏒 NHL

Flames def. Golden Knights (4-1)

Devils def. Stars (6-2)

Hurricanes def. Panthers (4-0)

Bruins def. Canadiens (2-1, OT)

Maple Leafs def. Flyers (6-2)

*Auston Matthews Scores 55th Goal of Season

Lightning def. Rangers (6-3)

*Brayden Point (3G, 3A) Has 6-Point Game

🎾 Indian Wells (Quarterfinals)

M: #2 C. Alcaraz def. #6 A. Zverev (6-3, 6-1)

M: #4 D. Medvedev def. #7 H. Rune (7-5, 6-4)

W: #3 C. Gauff def. Y. Yuan (6-4, 6-3)

W: #1 I. Swiatek def. C. Wozniacki (6-4, 1-0 W/O)

NEWS 📰

🏒 Police Investigating Stolen Jaromir Jagr Bobbleheads Before Penguins Game (B/R)

🏀 Vanderbilt Fires Head Coach Jerry Stackhouse After 5 Seasons (ESPN)

🏀 Oklahoma State Fires Mike Boynton After 7 Seasons (Yahoo! Sports)

🏀 DePaul Hires Ex-Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann to Turn Around Program (CBS Sports)

🏈 NFL Probing Tampering Allegations Against Eagles & Falcons (SI)

⚾️ Shohei Ohtani Finally Reveals Identity of Wife, Japanese Pro Basketball Player, in Social Media Photo (AP)

🎾 ‘Bee Invasion’ Delays Match at Indian Wells for Almost 2 Hours (NBC News)

WEEKEND SCHEDULE 🗓️

The Weekend Must-Watch List

Oh boy, team. It’s one of those weekends. The spring equivalent of the sports equinox is nearly upon us. Golf and tennis infiltrate the daily basketball, hockey and soccer highlights (plus, MLB spring training). And with NFL free agent drama, it feels like every sport is firing at once. I love it. Enjoy the weekend and we’ll catch you on Monday to analyze some brackets. ✌️

🏀 NCAA Selection Show (Sun. 6:00 pm, CBS)

Men’s ACC Tournament (Schedule)

Men’s Big 12 Tournament (Schedule)

Men’s Big East Tournament (Schedule)

Men’s Big Ten Tournament (Schedule)

Men’s PAC-12 Tournament (Schedule)

Men’s SEC Tournament (Schedule)

⛳️ The Players Championship

Rounds 2-4 (Friday-Sunday, NBC/Golf Channel)

🎾 Indian Wells (Semifinals)

W: #1 I. Swiatek vs. #31 M. Kostyuk (Fri. 7:00 pm)

W: #3 C. Gauff vs. #9 M. Sakkari (Fri. 9:00 pm)